View source for 03 Social, Physical and Environmental Context

To provide background and context to the design of the Blue Gold Program, the following information is provided in this chapter: 

* '''Environmental context''':  using four groupings (ie Khulna, Satkhira, Patuakhali north and Patuakhali south) for the 22 Blue Gold polders, an analysis is provided of the hydrological, biological, bio-ecological, agricultural and environmental characteristics.
* '''Social context''': provides information on project demographics,  educational status, type of construction and facilities at household level,  relative poverty levels and the outreach target population for poverty-focused activities (such as homestead FFSs).
* '''Physical context:''' purpose of polder infrastructure (safety and water management), vulnerability to threats, and a summary of for each polder of the dates of construction, investments by earlier projects, location, the responsible BWDB Division and Upazila administration, and characteristics of the infrastructure - length of embankment, numbers of structures and length of primary drainage channels or khals.
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==Environmental context==

The coastal zone has a complex agroecology, with low-lying lands between huge tidal rivers.

Waterlogging is a problem in large parts of the coastal zone, but especially in the southwest (Satkhira, Jessore, Khulna and Bagerhat). This is caused by the reduction of dry season flow resulting from water abstractions at Farakka barrage on the Ganges just upstream from the border with India. This has contributed to increased salinity and greater sedimentation in the tidal rivers that drain the polders. The construction of polders during the 1960s and 1970s reduced the tidal prism of the rivers by preventing flooding across the tidal plain and contributed to accelerated river siltation. Because of the reduced drainage capacity caused by siltation, these tidal rivers are unable to drain adjacent lands and polders, and this causes the waterlogging. More information on the decision to form coastal polders,  together with a review of the water resources projects in the coastal zone - both historical and current is provided in [[04 Policy framework, history of interventions and project definition#History of interventions|Chapter 4]].  

The physical and environmental context for all twenty-two Blue Gold polders is provided below, using four groupings (ie Khulna, Satkhira, Patuakhali north and Patuakhali south), and including an analysis of the hydrological, biological, bio-ecological, agricultural and environmental characteristics. The data and information are mostly obtained from Polder Development Plans (PDPs), Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 Baseline Study Report on Coastal and Polder Issues. 

===Khulna===
Blue Gold includes eleven polders<ref group="Notes">Polder 22, 30, 31 Part, 34/2 Part, 29, 25, 26, 27/1, 27/2, 28/1 and 28/2.</ref> within the Upazilas of Dumuria, Batiaghata, Fultola and Dhighulia, all in Khulna District. The polders are located in the South-West hydrological region of Bangladesh, with BWDB's responsibilities discharged by Khulna-1 and Khulna-2 O&M Divisions from Khulna<ref group="Notes">O&M Division 1 with polder 25, 26, 27/1, 27/2, 28/1, 28/2 and 29; O&M Division 2 with polder 22, 30, 31 Part and 34/2 Part</ref>. It is surrounded by a network of tidal rivers: Bhairab, Rupsha and Kazibacha river to the east; Teligati, upper Vodra  and Gangrail rivers to the west;  Hari, Sree Hari and upper Bhairab rivers to the north, and Pashur and Sibsa rivers to the south. 

[[File:Map - Khulna.jpg|alt=|center|thumb|800x800px|Map of Khulna]]

The rivers and drainage channels around these eleven polders are fed by tidal flows through Sibsa and Pashur rivers. During the monsoon months, when the sluice gates are opened, freshwater flow takes place both in and out of the polder. The polder situated most southern, P22, is in a straight-line distance of 75 km from the shores of the Bay of Bengal. The distance from buffer radius of the Sundarbans mangrove forest (under Nolian range) ranges from about 28 km for P34/2-part to about 49 km for P25. Due to the distance from the Sundarbans and the nature of rehabilitation works, there are no negative influences on the Sundarbans Ecological Critical Area resulting from Blue Gold interventions.
{| class="wikitable" style="width:30%; float:right; margin: 10px;"
|'''South-West hydrological region with Ganges Tidal Flood Plain (AEZ-13) zone, Sibsa and Pashur river at the south are the main distributaries are connected with Bay of Bengal'''
|}
The area encompasses two bio-ecological zones, namely the Ganges Floodplain (which comprises of a smooth landscape of ridges, basins and old channels) and the Saline Tidal Floodplain (which has a low ridge and basin relief, crossed by innumerable tidal rivers and creeks). The greater part of the area in this grouping lies in the Saline Tidal Floodplain, which is characterised by smooth relief and large areas of saline land of varying degrees of salinity.

The eleven polders have a gross area of 60,200 ha of which 49,400 ha is used for agricultural purposes, 10,800 ha for fisheries (with white fish ''gher''s of 9,500 ha and shrimp ''ghers'' of 1,300 ha). The highland in the polders under Dumuria Upazila is around 16% which are mostly used for homestead vegetable, the medium high land is around 44% which is mostly used for rice, vegetable and seasonal white fish farming in monsoon and the low land which is around 40% area  is mostly used for fish with one rice crop in the dry months. Around 13% of the area under Dumuria Upazila is prone to salinity.  In Batiaghata Upazila, the highland area of around 8% of the agricultural area is mainly used for homestead vegetables, with the medium high land of around 75% used for rice, vegetables and seasonal white fish farming in monsoon, and the low land of around 15% used for fish with one rice crop in the dry months. Around 38% of Batiaghata Upazila is prone to salinity.    

The internal road communication facilities are good. In the polders, there are 55% ''pucca'', 20% herringbone (brick-made) and 25% ''kacha'' (earthen) roads. The business communications and market facilities are good within the District and for access to Upazila headquarters. The demand for vegetables in Khulna and adjacent cities is served by Dumuria and Batiaghta Upazilas. The condition of the embankments is reasonable but there are a number of reaches which are especially prone to erosion: in Chandghar and Baroaria (P29); Koria, Bujbunia and Shealidanga (P34/2-part); Barobhuiyan (P31-part); Kismotfultola, Kathamari, Boronpara and Hogalbunia (P30); Kalinagar, Darunmollik, Durgapur, Bigordana and Telikhali (P22); Khornia bazar to Mery Bricks reach (P25); Zialtola (P26) and Kachubunia (P28/2).

The issues that affect the sustainability of agricultural production and fisheries – and thereby the livelihoods of local inhabitants – include:

#'''Salinity intrusion, especially in the dry period.''' Such salinity intrusion causes severe scarcity of drinking water sources in particular in Char Charia, Dighalia, Ratankhali, Jaliakhali, Akra, Chandgarh and Sundar Mahal.
#'''Drainage congestion.''' Around 40% of the khals inside the polder suffer from severe drainage congestion, mainly caused by: (i) silting of khals which are connected to outfall rivers; (ii) illegal use of the ''khals'' for fisheries either on lease through the local administration or relying on local influence; and (iii) congestion of ''khals'' by water hyacinth  
#'''Sediment congestion.''' During tidal flood flows (i.e. tidal phase during which the tidal current is flowing inland), sediment is deposited in the outfall rivers resulting in congestion and a reduced drainage capacity. This mostly occurs during the dry months when the inflow from rivers is negligible.
#'''Congestion of water hyacinth.''' Most of the internal khals, field channels, low current rivers are congested by water hyacinth.
#'''Conversion of agricultural land into settlements''' is occurring in peri-urban areas around Khulna city, such as P25, P28/1 and P28/2.

===Satkhira===
Blue Gold targeted one polder in Satkhira District, Polder 2 (P2), which is surrounded by the Betna River on the east and Morichap River on the south-west. The upstream reaches of Betna River are silted, with the result that there is no water flow in the dry season. The Morichap River is now fully silted with almost no drainage capacity, and is being used for rice-''gher'' cultivation. The drainage system has been declining since Farakha barrage was commissioned in 1974 but particularly severe effects have been felt by P2 communities in the last 10 to 15 years when the Betna and Morichap river have been significantly silted. Satkhira khal is poorly connected with outfall Morichap river. Therefore some water drains out in Kolikata khal and Tiket khal from Morichap river and finally fall in the Ichamoti river.
{| class="wikitable" style="width:30%; float:right; margin: 10px;"
|'''South-West hydrological region with High Ganges River Floodplain (AEZ-11) and Ganges Tidal Flood Plain (AEZ-13) zone,  Kholpetua and Kanksiali river at the south are the main distributaries are connected with the Bay of Bengal'''
|}
P2 is around 85 km away from the Bay of Bengal and is affected by tidal influences. The polder is of an elongated north-south orientation. The south-east corner of the polder is located within 12 km of the buffer area of the Sundarbans. The polder is situated in the south-west hydrological regions of the country with BWDB responsibilities being discharged by Satkhira-2 O&M Division, in Satkhira. The area is represented by two agro-ecological zones (AEZs): High Ganges River Floodplain (AEZ-11) and Ganges Tidal Flood Plain (AEZ-13). During high tide, water flows from the Bay of Bengal to the Kabodak river system, which feeds in turn the peripheral Betna and Morichap rivers.

P2 has a gross area of 12,600 ha land, with 11,000 ha used for agricultural, 1,600 ha for fisheries (400 ha for white fish ''ghers'' and 1,200 ha for shrimp ''ghers)''. The highland which is around 10% area, is mostly used for rice and vegetable, the medium land which is around 50% area is mostly used for rice and seasonal white fish farming in monsoon and the low land which is around 40% area is mostly used for fish with one rice crop in the dry months. About 10% area is saline prone, which is likely to expand northward due to the effect of climate change if no adequate mitigation measures are taken.

[[File:Map - Satkhira.jpg|alt=|center|thumb|800x800px|Map of Satkhira]]   

The internal road communication facilities are good. In the polder there are 60 km pacca road, 25 km herringbone bound (brick made) and 20 km kaacha (earth made) road. The business communication and market facilities are good with the District and Upazila headquarters. The existing condition of the embankment is good with the exception of one erosion vulnerable spot at Chapra area. 

The embankment at the north-eastern part has been turned into a rural herringbone road which now allows heavy vehicular movements during all seasons. A huge number of brickfield have been established at north-eastern part (at Benarpota, Machkhola, Shalley and Beradangi village area) along the bank of Betna river which required movement of trucks and heavy vehicle for carrying bricks and materials which previously caused damage to the embankment. 

The issues that affect the sustainability of agricultural production and fisheries – and thereby the livelihoods of local inhabitants – are the following: '''-'''

#'''Drainage congestion.''' During monsoon and post-monsoon, most of the khals running through the polder area cannot cope with the increased rainfall occurrences, leading to moderate to severe drainage congestion in about 60% of the polder area. The siltation of the Betna and Morichap river is the main reason for such drainage congestion. Water logging at the north and middle and brackish water shrimp farming at the south are causing  a problem of unemployment in the area, since labor requirements are reduced as a consequence of a reduction in crop cultivation. This causes migration of local labor to the nearby Khulna and Jashore District.
#'''Sediment congestion.''' During the high tide the sediment comes through the outfall rivers with the tidal water and congests the connected canals/river side of the gates. This mainly takes place during the dry months when the upstream flow is low. The sediment congestion contributes to morphological changes (i.e. formation of new lands, river course shifting) and may thus be affect the peripheral rivers and be the cause of other anthropogenic development (i.e. conversion into shrimp farming, settlement etc.)

===Patuakhali North (Patuakhali and Barguna)===
Blue Gold includes eight polders within the Upazilas of Patuakhali Sadar, Galachipa, Dashmina and Bauphal under Patuakhali District<ref group="Notes">Polder 43/2A, 43/2B, 43/2D, 43/2E, 55/2A and 55/2C</ref> and Amtoli under Barguna District<ref group="Notes">Polder 43/1A and 43/2F</ref>. The polders are located in the South hydrological zone of the country, with BWDB's responsibilities discharged by the Patuakhali O&M Division, Patuakhali and Barguna O&M Division, Barguna. These polders are surrounded by various tidal rivers: Tetulia river to the east; Pyra river to the west; Lohalia river to the north, and Galachipa and Patua rivers to the south. 
{| class="wikitable" style="width:30%; float:right; margin: 10px;"
|'''South-Central hydrological region at Ganges Tidal Flood Plain (AEZ-13) zone, Rabnabad and Patua river at the south are main distributaries are connected with Bay of Bengal'''
|}
This region occupies an extensive area of Ganges tidal floodplain (AEZ-13) with the greater part of the region influenced by upstream flows from the Meghna system. Deep, rapidly permeable sandy loams and sandy clay loam soils are dominant in the region. The aerial distance from the coast of the Bay of Bengal ranges from 45 km (from P43/2E) to 30 km (P43/2F).  All the peripheral rivers and drainage channels around these eight polders are tidal with inflow from the Bay of Bengal entering the peripheral rivers including Galachipa, Lohalia, Pyra and Tetulia rivers through the Rabnabad and Patua rivers.

[[File:Map - Patuakhali North.jpg|center|thumb|800x800px|Map of Patuakhali North]]

The eight polders have a gross area of 40,400 ha, of which agricultural land is approximately 33,000 ha. Among the cultivable land single, double and triple cropping is practiced at a scale of 22%, 66% and 12% respectively.  The highland in the polders is about 15% while the medium high land is around 75% and low land is 10%. 88% of the populations are engaged in the agriculture sector including farming, agricultural labour, fishing, day labour etc. About 5% of the population is engaged in the salaried service sector, including employees in government and the private sector.  The industrial sector employs only 7% of the population implying that industrialization is still underdeveloped. Farmers are mainly owner-operators, preferring to cultivate their own land rather than using sharecropping arrangements. 

Salinity levels in these eight polders are low. No surface water salinity exists in the area in monsoon and post monsoon seasons, even though very minor surface water salinity is found along the peripheral rivers i.e. the Payra and the Gulishakhali during dry season. The reason for this low salinity level is the freshwater discharge from the upstream Meghna River system towards the rivers of the South Central hydrological region. The soils of the polder area become very slightly saline in the dry season (Jan-May). According to the DAE, the soil and water salinity gradually increases with dryness from January and reached maximum level in the month of March-April and then decreases due to the onset of the monsoon rainfall.

Rain-fed agriculture is practised during the kharif-I and kharif-II seasons for Lt. Aus, HYV Aman, and Lt. Aman crops; whereas surface water irrigation is provided to around 95% area of watermelon and groundnut crops during Rabi season. Irrigation is not required in some areas for groundnut since only areas of high soil moisture are used, and for watermelon which is grown by the sides of rivers or khals. Water is also required for other rabi season crops (sunflower, sesame, khesari etc.) but no supplementary irrigation is needed for these crops as sufficient soil moisture is available during the season.

The greatest part of the internal road network is ''kacha'' (earth made). During monsoon, it is difficult to communicate through the earthen roads inside the polder due to heavy mud formation. The business communication and market facilities is not very good with the District and Upazila headquarters.

The issues that affect sustainability of agricultural production and fisheries – and thereby the livelihoods of local inhabitants – include: 

#'''Lack of irrigation facilities''' which results in large areas remaining fallow from March to June.  About 5 to 10% of agricultural land has been brought under irrigation, apart from P55/2A and P55/2C where irrigation covers 8 to 12% of agricultural land. Some 728 Low Lift Pumps (LLPs) are used for surface water irrigation across the eight polders<ref group="Notes">In Polder 43/2A there are 115 LLPs, 43/2B-130 LLPs, 43/2D-110 LLPs, 43/2E-60 LLPs, 55/2A-95 LLPs, 55/2C-78 LLPs, 43/1A-75 LLPs and 43/2F-65 LLPs. </ref>.
#'''River bank erosion and tidal flooding''' include erosion hotspots near Angulkata, Gulishakhali, Dalachara and Naiapara in P43/2F; Balaikati & Sonakhali in P43/2B; Bhajna, Matibhanga, Banshtala, Kazirhat bazar and Kewabunia in P43/2A; Morichbunia in P43/2D and Modhupura, Sutabaria, Ronuabazar and Alipura sluice area in P55/2C.
#'''Congestion of water hyacinth and duck weed.''' Due to siltation, many khals only function for part of the year, and become blocked with duck weed and water-hyacinth. Water-hyacinth prevents sun light to penetrate through the water which hampers photosynthesis of other aquatic vegetation. The decomposition of water-hyacinth reduces the water quality and has a negative impact on the fisheries and other aquatic life.

===Patuakhali South (Kalapara)===
Two polders<ref group="Notes">Polder 47/3 and 47/4</ref> in Kalapara Upazila in Patuakhali District are included in the Blue Gold Program. The polders are located in the South region, with BWDB's responsibilities discharged by the Patuakhali Water Development Division based in Kalapara. It is surrounded by Patua and Rabnabad rivers to the east; Andharmanik river to the west; Hauder Bharani river to the north, and connected to the Bay of Bengal at the south through Rabnabad river. 
{| class="wikitable" style="width:30%; float:right; margin: 10px;"
|'''South-Central hydrological region at Ganges Tidal Flood Plain (AEZ-13) zone, Rabnabad and Patua river at the south are main distributaries are connected with Bay of Bengal'''
|}
This region occupies an extensive area of the Ganges tidal floodplain (AEZ-13) with the largest part of this region of smooth relief with extensive saline areas. Deep, rapidly permeable sandy loams and sandy clay loams are dominant in this region. The aerial distance from the coast of the Bay of Bengal ranges between 3 km (from Mithagonj Union of Polder 47/3) and 2 km (from Dhulasar Union of Polder 47/4). The peripheral and internal rivers and canals are subject to the diurnal tidal cycles. During high tide, water flows from the Bay of Bengal comes in to the peripheral rivers through the Rabnabad and Patua river.

P47/3 and P47/4 are to some extent saline prone areas. There are two erosion affected areas at P47/3, one is located from Tegachia Bazar to Joy Bangla Bazar in the bank of Hauder Bharani khal/river and another one is near Dakshin Charpara bridge and five erosion prone zones at P47/4 which are Banglabazar (near Mithaganj), Katakhali (near Monoshatali village), Paschim Dhulasar School Ghat, Char Dhularsar and Char Baliatali.

[[File:Map - Patuakhali South.jpg|center|thumb|800x800px|Map of Patuakhali South]]

The polders are about 8,600 ha in size, of which 7,000 ha (82%) is agricultural land. In both polders, the irrigation facilities are poor, in P47/3 approximately 3% and in P47/4 approximate 2% of the land is irrigated, especially for the cultivation boro rice and vegetables in rabi season. Surface water (reserved canal and pond water) is generally used for irrigation. Around 80-90% of the population depend on deep tube-wells as a source of drinking water and the remaining 10% depend on pond water, ''kup'' (protected dug well) water etc.

The internal road communication facilities are poor. Internal polder roads consist of about 37 km of bituminous roads, 12 km of brick-soled roads and 80 km of earthen roads. The poor business communications and market facilities result in additional costs for farmers to deliver and sell their rice and vegetables to Upazila or District level markets. However, for fish such as ''Hilsha'' the business communication is good because of a ''Hilsha'' landing centre in Kalapara, and - after packaging -  ''Hilsha'' can be readily transported to outside markets.

The issues that affect sustainability of agricultural production and fisheries – and therefore, the livelihoods of local inhabitants – are:

#'''Drainage congestion,''' which is the major problem in P47/3 and P47/4. It is most severe from mid-July to mid-November because of siltation and man-made causes, including artificial blockages made to serve fisheries interests in the rivers and ''khals'' and damage to regulators at the outfall of ''khals''. In these polders the Tulatola beel, Choto Baliatoli, Pokhiyapara beel, Boga Khalir beel and Charbaliatoli beel under Baliatali Union; Baultali and Tarikatar beel under Dhulasar Union; Tegachhiar beel under Mithaganj Union and Kortaliar beel under Dalbuganj Union are particularly prone to drainage congestion.
#'''Lack of irrigation facilities.''' Irrigation facilities are poor with very small areas in both P47/3 and P47/4 being served by irrigation facilities.

==Social context==
This section describes the social context of the livelihood of coastal Bangladesh. To explore the social contexts and poverty situation of coastal communities, the data of three Districts and its Upazilas under Blue Gold Program areas are included from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2010-11 (BBS). Besides this, polder level data is included from the Baseline survey-phase I, 2017. It is noteworthy that limited data on polders versus national units.  First section of this chapter includes some social indicators like demographic features, educational status, household structure and other facilities of the households (electricity, sanitation and electricity) of three Districts, Upazilas and polders. The next section the chapter includes the poverty data of the three Districts, and Upazilas, land-based household categories in polder level and their income from different sources. At the end this section tried to draw a link between land ownership and incidence of poverty and targeting households for BGP interventions. 

=== Demographic features ===
In term of area and population, Khulna District has the highest number among the three Districts of BGP area and the areas and population of different Upazilas of these three Districts varY significantly. Population densities in Khulna (528/km<sup>2</sup>) and Satkhira (520/km<sup>2</sup>) are similar, but lower in Patuakhali District (477/km<sup>2</sup>). The population density varies significantly among the different Upazilas within the same District. The highest population density is considered as most vulnerable.  The population density is more than double in the Upazilas which are near to zila center like Phultala Upazila (1,476/km<sup>2</sup>) of Khulna District and Sadar Upazila of Satkhira(1,156/km<sup>2</sup>) compared to Paikgacha Upazila (603/ km<sup>2</sup>) of Khulna District and Asasuni Upazila (717/ km<sup>2</sup>) of Satkhira District. Population growth rate varies among the Districts and Upazila. Some Upazilas have negative growth rate due to migration related to climate change and rapid urbanization. The national average family size is 4.4, this size is not significantly varying among the Districts and Upazila with the highest (4.6) in Patuakhali Sadar and the lowest 4.1 in Paikgacha, Kalapara and Satkhira Sadar.  
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.1: Demographic features of Khulna District and its Upazilas
! rowspan="2" |Demographic features (BBS 2011)
! rowspan="2" |Khulna District
! colspan="4" |Upazilas under Khulna District within BGP areas
|-
!Batiaghata
!Dumuria
!Paikgacha
!Phultala
|-
!Area (sq. km)
|4,394
|248
|454
|411
|57
|-
!Population
|2,318,527
|171,691
|305,675
|247,983
|83,881
|-
!Density per sq. km.
|528
|691
|673
|603
|1,416
|-
!Annual population growth rate (%)
|(-)0.25
|1.99
|0.87
|(-)0.1*
|0.85
|-
!Households (no)
|547,347
|40,779
|71,909
|59,873
|19,555
|-
!Average HH size (no)
|4.2
|4.2
|4.2
|4.1
|4.3
|-
| colspan="6" |*Negative growth rate of population due to migration of population to other places
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.2: Demographic features of Patuakhali District and its Upazilas
! rowspan="2" |Demographic  features (BBS 2011)
! rowspan="2" |Patuakhali  District
! colspan="5" |Patuakhali  District and Upazilas within BGP areas
!Barguna
|-
!Bauphal
!Dashmina
!Galchipa
!Kalapara
!Patuakhali  Sadar
!Amtali
|-
!Area (sq. km)
|3,221
|487
|352
|1,268
|492
|362
|721
|-
!Population
|1,535,854
|304,284
|123,388
|361,518
|237,831
|316,462
|270,802
|-
!Density per sq.  km.
|477
|625
|351
|285
|484
|873
|720.8
|-
!Annual population  growth rate (%)
|0.49
|(-)0.02
|0.52
|1.05
|1.62
|(-)0.19
|0.41
|-
!Households (no)
|346,462
|67,833
|28,490
|80,054
|57,525
|68,813
|63,212
|-
!Average HH size  (persons)
|4.4
|4.5
|4.3
|4.5
|4.1
|4.6
|4.3
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.3: Demographic features of Satkhira District and its Upazilas
! rowspan="2" |Demographic  features (BBS 2011)
! rowspan="2" |Satkhira  District
! colspan="2" |Upazilas under Satkhira District within BGP  areas
|-
!Assasuni
!Satkhira  Sadar
|-
!Area (sq. km)
|3,817
|374
|398
|-
!Population
|1,985,959
|268,754
|460,892
|-
!Density per sq.  km.
|520
|717
|1,156
|-
!Households (no)
|469,890
|62,037
|109,105
|-
!Average HH size  (no)
|4.2
|4.3
|4.1
|-
!Population growth  rate (annual) (%)
|0.62
|0.74
|1.15
|}


Table 3.4 below provides information for each polder including: 

* Previous project interventions: IPSWAM, KJDRP or WMIP
* Location by District, BWBD Division and Upazila
* Gross and cultivable area (ha)
* Numbers of households per polder and per WMG. with estimates of the population based on the average household size provided by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)   
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+Table 3.4<ref group="Notes">Average household size in Khulna & Satkhira is 4.22 and in Patuakhali is 4.41 (based on Population Census 2011).</ref> Information on Blue Gold Polders
! colspan="1" |Sl. No.
! colspan="1" |Polder
!
! colspan="1" |Previous History
! colspan="1" |District
! colspan="1" |BWDB Division
! colspan="1" |Upazila
! colspan="1" |Gross

Area (hectare)
! colspan="1" |CultivableArea (hectare)
! colspan="1" |No. of households of local stakeholders
! colspan="1" |No. of households

enrolled in WMGs
! colspan="1" |People per Polder
! colspan="1" |Members enrolled in WMGs
! colspan="1" |No. of WMAs
! colspan="1" |No. of WMGs
! colspan="1" |HHs per WMG
! colspan="1" |HHs per WMA
! colspan="1" |People per WMG
! colspan="1" |People per WMA
|-
! colspan="17" rowspan="1" |Khulna
|4.22
|
|-
|1
|22
|
|IPSWAM
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-2
|Paikgachha
|1,630
|1,417
|2,145
|1,684
|9,052
|2,132
|1
|12
|179
|2,145
|754
|9,052
|-
|2
|26
|
|none
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Dumuria
|2,696
|2,100
|3,962
|3,051
|16,720
|5,072
|1
|15
|264
|3,962
|1,115
|16,720
|-
|3
|29
|
|IPSWAM
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Dumuria, Batiaghata
|8,218
|6,570
|12,232
|7,476
|51,619
|7,896
|2
|56
|218
|6,116
|922
|25,810
|-
|4
|30
|
|IPSWAM
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-2
|Batiaghata
|6,396
|4,048
|8,187
|4,875
|34,549
|5,385
|1
|40
|205
|8,187
|864
|34,549
|-
|5
|31 Part
|
|none
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-2
|Batiaghata
|4,848
|4,048
|4,196
|3,224
|17,707
|4,584
|1
|12
|350
|4,196
|1,476
|17,707
|-
|6
|25
|
|KJDRP
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Dumuria, Fultala
|17,400
|14,379
|30,323
|17,759
|127,963
|18,292
|2
|61
|497
|15,162
|2,098
|63,982
|-
|7
|27/1
|
|KJDRP
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Dumuria
|3,765
|3,000
|5,292
|3,102
|22,332
|3,221
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" |1
|15
|353
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" |7,181
|1,489
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" |30,304
|-
|8
|27/2
|
|KJDRP
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Dumuria
|495
|400
|1,889
|1,142
|7,972
|1,236
|6
|315
|1,329
|-
|9
|28/1
|
|KJDRP
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Dumuria, Batiaghata
|5,600
|4,500
|2,393
|1,419
|10,098
|1,431
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" |1
|12
|199
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" |5,382
|842
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" |22,712
|-
|10
|28/2
|
|KJDRP
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Batiaghata
|2,590
|2,000
|2,989
|1,766
|12,614
|1,817
|12
|249
|1,051
|-
|11
| colspan="2" rowspan="1" |34/2 part
|none
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-2
|Batiaghata
|4,900
|4,030
|9,617
|6,334
|40,584
|7,724
|1
|20
|481
|9,617
|2,029
|40,584
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
!Sub-Total: Khulna
|'''58,538'''
|'''46,492'''
|'''83,225'''
|'''51,832'''
|'''351,210'''
|'''58,790'''
|'''11'''
|'''261'''
|'''319'''
|'''7,566'''
|'''1,346'''
|'''31,928'''
|-
! colspan="17" |Patuakhali
|4.41
|4.12
|-
|12
|43/1A
|
|IPSWAM
|Barguna
|Barguna O&M
|Amtali
|2,675
|2,200
|5,129
|3,571
|21,131
|3,936
|2
|14
|366
|2,565
|1,616
|11,309
|-
|13
|43/2A
|
|IPSWAM
|Patuakhali
|Patuakhali O&M
|Patuakhali Sadar, Amtali
|5,182
|3,887
|8,434
|5,700
|37,194
|7,465
|2
|22
|383
|4,217
|1,691
|18,597
|-
|14
|43/2B
|
|IPSWAM
|Barguna & Patuakhali
|Patuakhali O&M
|Galachipa, Patuakhali Sadar, Amtali
|5,460
|4,000
|8,885
|5,817
|39,183
|7,210
|3
|28
|317
|2,962
|1,399
|13,061
|-
|15
|43/2D
|
|IPSWAM
|Patuakhali
|Patuakhali O&M
|Patuakhali Sadar, Galachipa
|6,500
|4,875
|9,988
|6,472
|44,047
|7,364
|5
|28
|357
|1,998
|1,573
|8,809
|-
|16
|43/2E
|
|IPSWAM
|Patuakhali
|Patuakhali O&M
|Patuakhali Sadar
|1,650
|1,300
|2,317
|1,761
|10,218
|1,962
|2
|12
|193
|1,159
|851
|5,109
|-
|17
|43/2F
|
|IPSWAM
|Barguna
|Barguna O&M
|Amtali
|4,453
|3,500
|6,639
|4,602
|27,353
|6,459
|3
|27
|246
|2,213
|1,084
|9,759
|-
|18
|55/2A
|
|WMIP
|Patuakhali
|Patuakhali O&M
|Patuakhali Sadar, Bauphal, Dashmina, Galachipa
|7,166
|5,000
|13,966
|7,838
|61,590
|7,838
|1
|14
|998
|13,966
|4,399
|61,590
|-
|19
|55/2C
|
|none
|Patuakhali
|Patuakhali O&M
|Dashmina, Galachipa
|6,275
|5,020
|10,173
|6,468
|44,863
|7,600
|2
|16
|636
|5,087
|2,804
|22,431
|-
|20
|47/3
|
|none
|Patuakhali
|Kalapara
|Kalapara
|2,025
|1,660
|2,313
|1,668
|10,200
|2,326
|1
|7
|330
|2,313
|1,457
|10,200
|-
|21
|47/4
|
|none
|Patuakhali
|Kalapara
|Kalapara
|6,600
|5,600
|7,453
|5,105
|32,868
|6,847
|1
|18
|414
|7,453
|1,826
|32,868
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
!Sub-Total: Patuakhali
|'''47,986'''
|'''37,042'''
|'''75,297'''
|'''49,002'''
|'''328,647'''
|'''59,007'''
|'''22'''
|'''186'''
|'''405'''
|'''3,423'''
|'''1,767'''
|'''14,939'''
|-
! colspan="17" rowspan="1" |Satkhira
|4.22
|
|-
| colspan="1" rowspan="3" |22
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" |2 and 2 ext*
|2
|none
|Satkhira
|Satkhira O&M-2
|Satkhira Sadar and Assasuni
|11,290
|10,122
|25,077
|
|105,825
|
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" |3
|58
|432
| colspan="1" rowspan="2" |9,272
|1,825
|39,129
|-
|2 Extension
|none
|Satkhira
|Satkhira O&M-2
|satkhira Sadar
|1,310
|1,174
|2,740
|
|11,563
|
|6
|457
|1,927
| -
|-
|
|
|
|
|
!Sub-Total: Satkhira
|'''12,600'''
|'''11,296'''
|'''27,817'''
|'''17,761'''
|'''117,388'''
|'''19,122'''
|'''3'''
|'''64'''
|'''435'''
|'''9,272'''
|'''1834'''
|'''39,129'''
|-
! colspan="7" rowspan="1" |Total
!119,124
!94,830
!186,339
!118,595
!797,244
!136,919
!36
!511
!365
!5,176
!1,560
!22,146
|}
The table below (Table 3.5) presents averages for the polders, WMAs and WMGs whose details are provided in Table 3.1. Whilst averages are a useful indicator, it is also helpful to appreciate the ranges between upper and lower limits of the data set -which are provided in the table in brackets beneath the average figure.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.5: Average areas and numbers of households and populations per polder, per WMA and per WMG
!
!Area (ha)
!No HHs
!Population
!No. of WMAs
!No. of WMGs
|-
!Average polder (22 no.)
|5,415

(range 1,630 to 17,400)
|8,470

(2,145 to 30,323)
|36,238

(9,052 to 127,963)
|1.6
|23
|-
!Average WMA

(36 no.)
|3,309

(1,485 to 8,700)
|5,176

(1,159 to 15,162)
|22,146

(9,052 to 63,982)
|<nowiki>--</nowiki>
|14
|-
!Average WMG

(511 no.)
|233

(83 to 512)
|365

(179 to 998)
|1,560

(754 to 4,399)
|<nowiki>--</nowiki>
|<nowiki>--</nowiki>
|}
BWDB’s preference was to have one WMA per polder, and therefore one O&M Agreement per polder between the WMA and BWDB’s Executive Engineer - except for the very large polders (such as P25 and P29). For historical reasons, more WMAs per polder were formed in Patuakhali at an early stage in the project, and despite attempts by BWDB in 2019/20 to consolidate these WMAs, this is still the case (22 WMAs for 10 polders). This in contrast with Khulna where each polder has only one WMA (11 WMAs for 11 polders – admittedly through the merger of P27/1 and P27/2 and P28/1 with P28/2).

The potential influence of WMAs and WMGs to act collectively in Union or Upazila elections, or in the purchase of agricultural inputs or sale of agricultural products is evident from the table: a WMA represents nearly 5,200 households and a WMG represents 365 households.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.6: Polder level demographic features from baseline data 2017
!Polder
!Average HH size
!Average male members
!Average female members
!Children (up to 12 yrs) 
!Female headed HH (HH %)
|-
!25
|4.6
|2.4
|2.2
|0.9
|2.1
|-
!31 Part
|4.4
|2.2
|2.2
|1.1
|6.5
|-
!28/1
|4.4
|2.2
|2.2
|0.7
|2.9
|-
!34/2 part
|4.7
|2.4
|2.2
|1.1
|4.9
|-
!55/2A
|5.1
|2.6
|2.5
|1.1
|4.7
|-
!47/4
|4.6
|2.4
|2.3
|1.1
|3.8
|-
!2 & 2 Ext.
|4.3
|2.2
|2.1
|0.8
|3.3
|-
!Khulna zone
|4.6
|2.4
|2.2
|0.9
|3.5
|-
!Patuakhali zone
|4.3
|2.2
|2.1
|0.8
|3.3
|-
!Satkhira zone
|4.9
|2.5
|2.4
|1.1
|4.3
|-
!Total (N=3,651)
|4.6
|2.4
|2.2
|0.9
|3.6
|}
2017 Baseline data shows that average family size is higher in Khulna and Patuakhali zone compared to the national average. This data also reveals that there is a significant difference in the average size of household among the different types of holding households. The average number of male and female members within the households is very similar while all the polders have a slightly higher average number of male members. The average number of children is around 1. The data shows as well-being improve from the landless to the large farmer, household sizes become significantly larger from 4 to 6. Overall, 3.6% households are headed by the female with highest in Patuakhali 4.3. Female-headed households are more prevalent (6.6%) in the landless household category while none of the large farm households is the female headed household.  Female headed households are one example of relatively poorer households (they are over-represented in LCS groups). However, the incidence of households with a male head who is unable to work (due to disability, chronic illness, etc) or migrated to other places for work seems quite substantial. Informal interviews find that husbands of many women of the poor group in the rural areas work and reside outside their villages at least for a certain period within a year.

=== Educational status ===
BBS 2011 shows that more than 50% population are literate. However, females are significantly behind than their counterpart in three Districts and in all the Upazila. Although country has achieved positive improvement in education but still illiteracy is the one of the main problems of coastal areas as well as the country. School attendance among 7-24 years people is highest in Khulna District with 58% people. So, around 40% school going age people are not enrolled in school. Female are also less enrolled than male in these age group. To reduce the gender gap in education, some initiatives has been taken by the government and various NGO’s but still a long way to go.  
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.7: Educational status in Khulna
! rowspan="2" |Educational status (BBS 2011)
! rowspan="2" |Khulna District
! colspan="4" |Upazilas under Khulna District within BGP areas
|-
!Batiaghata
!Dumuria
!Paikgacha
!Phultala
|-
! colspan="2" |Literacy Rate (7 years  & above) (%)
!
!
!
!
|-
!Both sex
|60.1
|54.9
|52.6
|52.8
|58.0
|-
!Male
|64.3
|59.0
|57.4
|58.6
|62.8
|-
!Female
|55.9
|50.7
|47.7
|47.1
|55.3
|-
! colspan="6" |School attendance (5 to 24 years)(%)
|-
!Both sex
|58.1
|54.2
|58.1
|55.3
|48.3
|-
!Male
|61.4
|58.3
|62.9
|59.0
|50.6
|-
!Female
|54.8
|50.1
|53.4
|51.8
|45.8
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.8: Educational status in Patuakhali
! rowspan="2" |Educational  status (BBS 2011)
! rowspan="2" |Patuakhali  District
! colspan="5" |Patuakhali District  and Upazilas within BGP areas
!Barguna
|-
!Bauphal
!Dashmina
!Galachipa
!Kalapara
!Patuakhali  Sadar
!Amtali
|-
! colspan="8" |Literacy Rate  (7 years & above) (%)
|-
!Both Sex
|54.1
|57.1
|48.7
|45.4
|52.0
|59.5
|45,9
|-
!Male
|56.2
|59.5
|52.6
|47.2
|52.6
|62.7
|54.9
|-
!Female
|52.0
|55.1
|45.1
|43.7
|51.5
|56.5
|50.8
|-
! colspan="8" |School  attendance (5 to 24 years) (%)
|-
!Both Sex
|56.8
|60.1
|54.0
|50.6
|51.7
|60.0
|39.3
|-
!Male
|59.8
|63.5
|57.8
|52.7
|53.5
|64.9
|42.4
|-
!Female
|53.8
|57.0
|50.3
|48.5
|49.8
|56.1
|36.2
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.9: Educational status in Satkhira
! rowspan="2" |Educational status (BBS 2011)
! rowspan="2" |Satkhira  District
! colspan="2" |Upazilas under Satkhira District within BGP  areas
|-
!Assasuni
!Satkhira  Sadar
|-
! colspan="4" |Literacy Rate  (7 years & above)
|-
!Both sex
|52.1
|49.8
|56.5
|-
!Male
|56.1
|54.9
|59.8
|-
!Female
|48.2
|44.8
|53.2
|-
! colspan="4" |School attendance  (5 to 24 years) (%)
|-
!Both sex
|56.1
|56.3
|56.5
|-
!Male
|59.6
|59.8
|60.0
|-
!Female
|52.8
|53.0
|53.0
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.10: Level (%) of education of HH head the school enrolment in different polders 
! rowspan="2" |Level of education (Baseline 2017)
! colspan="8" |Polder
|-
!25
!31 Part
!28/1
!34/2 part
!55/2A
!47/4
!2 &2 ext.
!Total
|-
!Illiterate
|8.9
|12.4
|10.5
|10.5
|7.9
|5.7
|11.6
|9.2
|-
!Can sign only
|21.5
|32.5
|25.0
|25.0
|24.0
|28.3
|26.7
|25.1
|-
!Primary
|25.8
|24.3
|27.9
|27.9
|33.7
|34.6
|26.7
|28.1
|-
!Secondary
|24.6
|21.3
|21.2
|21.2
|21.0
|18.4
|20.7
|21.5
|-
!SSC
|7.9
|4.7
|5.4
|5.4
|6.6
|4.9
|5.5
|6.5
|-
!HSC
|4.4
|2.4
|4.9
|4.9
|3.6
|3.2
|3.0
|3.9
|-
!Graduate and above
|4.2
|2.4
|3.1
|3.1
|2.7
|3.2
|3.3
|3.7
|-
!Others
|2.7
|0.0
|2.0
|2.0
|0.5
|1.7
|2.5
|2.0
|-
!Total
|100
|100
|100
|100
|100
|100
|100
|100
|-
!School enrollment (6-12yrs)
|97.4
|90.8
|92.6
|92.6
|94.0
|90.2
|95.6
|93.8
|}
The educational status of the household heads in polder level shows that there is considerable variation in the level of education of the HH heads across the polders. In the polder areas, the rate of no schooling (Illiterate and can sign only) of the household heads is highest in the polder 31 Part. Overall, 9.2% are illiterate and 28% of the household heads completed primary level education. In total 21.5% household heads have a secondary level education while only 6.5% completed SSC level. However, proportions of the household heads having completion of HSC or graduate and above level are quite low (3.9% and 3.7% respectively). Across polders, the proportion of school-age children who do not go to school is lowest in polder 25 (2.6 %) that is the closest polder near to Khulna city and highest in polder 47/4 (9.8 %) in Patuakhali.  Overall, a considerable percentage of the school enrolment of children is visible across the zone and all types of households. The trend does not vary significantly among different types of households. The percentage of sending children to school increases rapidly due to the initiatives of government and NGOs.  

=== Household structure and other facilities ===
BBS 2011 shows that around 58% household structure are kutcha or jhupri in Khulna and Satkhira while it is significantly high (around 92%) in Patuakhali. household structure significantly varies within the Upazilas.  Though a considerable household have access to safe drinking water, still around 15% households in Khulna and Satkhira do not have access to safe drinking water. This problem in Khulna and Satkhira is mainly related to the problem of high salinity level and arsenic contamination in ground water. Around 22% and 29% households in Khulna and Patuakhali do not have access to sanitary latrine. It is significantly high in Satkhira with around 42% households. A significant percentage of households in Khulna (64.3%) has access to electricity while it is less than half (31%) in Patuakhali and 41% in Satkhira. 
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.11: Household structure and other HH facilitates of Khulna
! rowspan="2" |Household structure and other facilities (BBS 2011)
! rowspan="2" |Khulna District
! colspan="4" |Upazilas under Khulna District within BGP areas
|-
!Batiaghata
!Dumuria
!Paikgacha
!Phultala
|-
! colspan="6" |HH Structure (% of HH)
|-
!pucca house
|18.3
|6.2
|11.1
|12.4
|17.9
|-
!semi-pucca house
|23.0
|11.9
|20.0
|18.1
|42.9
|-
!kutcha house
|56.6
|79.3
|67.6
|68.5
|37.4
|-
!Jhupri
|2
|2.6
|1.3
|1.0
|1.8
|-
!Source of drinking water (tube-well & tab) (% of HH)
|85.7
|96.5
|100.0
|64.0
|98.3
|-
! colspan="6" |Sanitation (% of HH)
|-
!Sanitary latrine
|78.0
|87.4
|81.8
|57.6
|78.9
|-
!Non-sanitary latrine
|18.4
|9.7
|13.6
|37.7
|19.9
|-
!no toilet  facilities
|3.6
|2.9
|4.6
|4.7
|1.2
|-
!Access to electricity (% of HH)
|64.1
|39.9
|69.8
|43.1
|82.4%
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.12: Household structure and other HH facilitates of Patuakhali
! rowspan="2" |HH structure &  other facilities (BBS 2011)
! rowspan="2" |Patuakhali  District
! colspan="5" |Patuakhali  District and Upazilas within BGP areas
|Barguna
|-
!Bauphal
!Dashmina
!Galachipa
!Kalapara
!Patuakhali  Sadar
|Amtali
|-
! colspan="8" |HH Structure (% of  HH)
|-
!pucca house
|2.6
|2.2
|1.1
|1.1
|1.6
|5.5
|1.2
|-
!semi-pucca house
|5.7
|5.7
|2.8
|3.7
|3.3
|9.3
|4
|-
!kutcha house
|86.6
|91.3
|93.7
|83.6
|85.2
|83.9
|87.4
|-
!jhupri
|5
|0.8
|2.4
|11.6
|9.9
|1.3
|7.4
|-
! colspan="8" |Source of drinking  water (tube-well & tab)
|-
!(% of HH)
|97.4
|97.5
|94.2
|97.3
|99.0
|98.1
|98.1
|-
! colspan="8" |Sanitation (HH %)
|-
!Sanitary latrine
|71.4
|70
|76.1
|62.4
|70.9
|76.7
|66.9
|-
!Non-sanitary  latrine
|25.3
|36.2
|21.2
|29.9
|24.9
|21.9
|28.7
|-
!no toilet facilities
|3.4
|1.5
|2.7
|7.7
|4.2
|1.4
|4.4
|-
!Access to  electricity (HH %)
|31.8
|36.2
|14.1
|22.9
|31.6
|40.4
|21.6
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.13: Household structure and other HH facilitates of Satkhira
! rowspan="2" |Household  structure and other facilities (BBS 2011)
! rowspan="2" |Satkhira  District
! colspan="2" |Upazilas under Satkhira District within BGP  areas
|-
!Assasuni
!Satkhira  Sadar
|-
! colspan="4" |HH Structure (% of  HH)
|-
!pucca house
|14.3
|11.1
|18.0
|-
!semi-pucca house
|28.5
|14.3
|42.1
|-
!kutcha house
|55.8
|73.9
|38.3
|-
!jhupri
|1.4
|0.7
|1.7
|-
!Source of drinking  water (tube-well & tab) (%of HH)
|85.0
|72.8
|94.4
|-
! colspan="4" |Sanitation (% of  HH)
|-
!Sanitary latrine
|58.9
|64.1
|54.5
|-
!Non-sanitary  latrine
|38.1
|32.4
|41.8
|-
!no toilet facilities
|3.7
|3.4
|3.7
|-
!Access to electricity  (% of HH)
|41.8
|30.7
|58.3
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.14: Level (%) of households reporting the numbers of room and the materials of roof and wall 
! rowspan="2" |Household  structure (Baseline 2017)
! colspan="8" |Polder
|-
!25
!31 Part
!28/1
!34/2 part
!55/2A
!47/4
!2 &2 ext.
!Total
|-
! colspan="9" |Number of rooms
|-
!One room
|86.9
|90.5
|91.3
|88.4
|97.7
|96.8
|94.6
|92.6
|-
!Two rooms
|13.1
|9.5
|8.3
|10.9
|2.3
|3.0
|4.8
|7.1
|-
!Three or more rooms
|0.0
|0.0
|0.4
|0.7
|0.0
|0.2
|0.6
|0.3
|-
! colspan="9" |'''Materials  of roof'''
|-
!Tin
|83
|94.7
|78.9
|89.7
|97.7
|96.8
|34.9
|74.9
|-
!Concrete
|13.9
|1.8
|16.9
|6.9
|2.3
|0.8
|14.8
|9.5
|-
!Tiles/hemp/hay/ bamboo/ others
|3.1
|3.6
|4.1
|3.3
|0
|2.3
|50.3
|15.6
|-
| colspan="9" |'''Materials  of Wall'''
|-
!Mud brick/CI sheet/ wood
|38.9
|61.5
|59.1
|55.6
|92.7
|95.6
|31.9
|57
|-
!Concrete
|55.2
|16
|33.1
|16.7
|6.6
|1.9
|59.6
|34.1
|-
!Hemp/hay/bamboo/ others
|5.8
|22.5
|7.9
|27.7
|0.7
|2.5
|8.5
|8.9
|}
Polder level data shows that most of the rural households (92.6%) in coastal zones live in the houses that have only one-bedroom. The percentages of one-bedroom households are significantly higher in the polder 55/2A and 47/4 with around 97% in Patuakhali District. On the other hand, the prevalence of two-bedrooms houses is observed in the polders of Khulna District, the percentage is highest in the polder 25 (13.1%) followed by the polder 34/2 Part (10.9%), polder 31 Part (9.5%) and the polder 28/1 (8.3%).

Data also shows that the majority of the households (74.9%) in the polders live in dwelling units roofed with tin with proportions ranging from 34.9% in the polder 2 and 2 Ext. to 97.7% in the polder 55/2A.  About 10% of households live in houses that are roofed concrete while around 16% households living in houses roofed with tiles/ hemp/hay/bamboo/others. Data indicates that more than half of the households (57%) live in dwelling units whose outer walls are mainly constructed with either mud brick or CI sheet or wood while around one-third of the households (34.1%) occupy dwelling units with outer walls made of concrete that are considered as pucca house. Overall, 8.9% households having outer wall is made of hemp/hay/bamboo/others, however, this wall material is significantly high in polder 34/2 Part (27.7%) and the polder 31 Part (22.5%).
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.15: Level (%) of households having access to safe water and sanitation in different polders
!Other facilities (Baseline 2017)
!Access to safe  drinking water
!Access to  hygienic latrine
!Wash hand with  soap before meal
|-
!25
|99.1
|97.2
|27.4
|-
!31 Part
|89.3
|98.2
|43.2
|-
!28/1
|97.5
|98.3
|51.7
|-
!34/2 part
|98.9
|97.8
|42.9
|-
!55/2A
|98.9
|98.2
|38.4
|-
!47/4
|96.6
|97.3
|56.5
|-
!2 & 2 Ext.
|61.0
|95.7
|22.2
|-
!Khulna zone
|97.8
|97.6
|37
|-
!Patuakhali zone
|97.8
|97.8
|46.7
|-
!Satkhira zone
|61
|95.7
|22.2
|-
!Total (N=3651)
|87.7
|97.2
|35.7
|}
Polder level data is related to hygiene and health of the people shows that about 88% of households have access to safe drinking water. Polder 25 has the highest proportion of households (99.1%) have access to safe drinking water while the polder 2 and 2Ext. has the least (61%). Data shows that only around one-third households in the polders have the practice of washing hand with soap before a meal. Approximately 97% households have access to some kind of hygienic toilet facilities. Data from zonal level shows that around 98% households of Patuakhali and Khulna zone have access to safe drinking water and hygienic latrine while having access to safe drinking water is significantly lower in Satkhira zone due to the widespread prevalence of arsenic in the groundwater in this region. Moreover, only 22% of households of Satkhira zone have the habit of washing hand before a meal while the percentage is more than double in Patuakhali zone but still more than half of the households do not have this habit. 

=== Poverty prevalence in coastal areas ===
Using the upper poverty line as calculated in the Household Income Expenditure Survey (HIES, 2010), the nationwide incidence of poverty is estimated at 35.2 percent in rural areas and 21.3 percent in urban areas. Using the lower poverty line, below which people are considered extreme poor, the incidence of poverty is estimated at 21.1 and 7.7 percent in respectively the rural and urban areas.  Overall, a large majority can be said to be vulnerable and be determined as poor.  HIES 2010 shows that around 39% households are poor in Khulna while it is more than 46% in Satkhira. Though poverty prevalence is lower (25.8%) in Patuakhali compared to these two Districts, it is still higher than national average 17.6%. Between these lines are the moderate poor.  In the Sadar Upazila of Patuakhali, 36.6% households are identified as poor. Most of the cases poverty prevalence is more in the Upazilas levels as well as polders under these Upazilas of BGP areas. 
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.16: Poverty prevalence in Khulna District and its Upazila (HIES, 2010)
!District and  poverty rank
!Polders in  these Upazila
!% extreme poor  (lower poverty line)
!% poor (upper  poverty line)
|-
!Khulna (46/64)
|
|21.2
|38.8
|-
! colspan="4" |Upazila
|-
!Batiaghata
|29,30, 31part,  28/1, 28/2, 34/2 part
|22.7
|40.5
|-
!Paikgacha
|22
|23.3
|42.2
|-
!Dumuria
|29, 26, 25, 27/1,  27/2
|19.6
|37.2
|-
!Fultala
|25
|17.0
|33.7
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.17: Poverty prevalence in Satkhira District and its Upazila (HIES, 2010)
!District and poverty rank
!Polders in these Upazila
!% extreme poor (lower poverty line)
!% poor (upper poverty line)
|-
!Satkhira 56/64
|
|29.7
|46.3
|-
! colspan="4" |Upazila
|-
!Satkhira Sadar
|2 ext.
|26
|43.1
|-
!Assasuni
|2
|32.0
|48.4
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.18: Poverty prevalence in Patuakhali District and its Upazila (HIES, 2010)
!District and poverty rank
!Polders in these Upazila
!% extreme poor (lower poverty line)
!% poor (upper poverty line)
|-
! colspan="2" |Patuakhali (20/64)
|14.7
|25.8
|-
! colspan="2" |Barguna (9/64)
|9.8
|19.0
|-
! colspan="4" |Upazila
|-
!Amtali
|43/1A, 43/2A, 43/2B, 43/2F
|12.0
|22.8
|-
!Patuakhali Sadar
|43/2A, 43/2D, 43/2E, 55/2A,
|23.3
|36.9
|-
!Galachipa
|43/2B, 43/2D, 55/2A, 55/2C
|14.4
|26.0
|-
!Bauphal
|55/2A,
|13.9
|24.0
|-
!Dashmina
|55/2A, 55/2C
|11.3
|21.8
|-
!Kalapara
|47/3, 47/3
|9.7
|20.3
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.19: Percentage of the farmer households based on land owning pattern (Baseline 2017)
!Polder
!Landless

<  5 dec
!Marginal

5-  49 dec
!Small

50-  249 dec
!Medium

250-749  dec
!Large

=>750
!Total
|-
!25
|15.5
|42.9
|32.7
|8.7
|0.1
|100.0
|-
!31 Part
|18.3
|52.1
|21.3
|6.5
|1.8
|100.0
|-
!28/1
|7.0
|38.8
|42.1
|10.3
|1.7
|100.0
|-
!34/2 part
|20.8
|49.6
|21.7
|6.3
|1.8
|100.0
|-
!55/2A
|7.0
|44.4
|40.0
|7.2
|1.4
|100.0
|-
!47/4
|13.9
|42.4
|31.2
|9.9
|2.5
|100.0
|-
!2 & 2 Ext.
|28.7
|43.9
|20.2
|5.7
|1.6
|100.0
|-
!Total (n=3651)
|17.8
|44.3
|28.9
|7.5
|1.4
|100.0
|}
Land is a valuable asset that is thinly shared by the majority of the people in the rural areas of Bangladesh, and the situation of the 22 polders of BGP are not an exception. The 2017 Baseline Survey also reveals that about 18% the total HHs of theses polders do not even have any cultivated land.  Some of them are residing on embankment slopes and/or residing in somebody else’s land. The survey further reveals that while 44.3% of the total HHs own some land (less than 50 decimal), only about 29 % of the HHs own 50-249 decimal of land, with only 1.4% as large farm HHs having more than 750 decimals of land.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.20: Land holding pattern (average land size in decimal) of different category of farmer households
! rowspan="2" |Baseline Survey  2017
! colspan="2" |Landless
! colspan="2" |Marginal  farmer
! colspan="2" |Small farmer
! colspan="2" |Medium  farmer
! colspan="2" |large farmer
! colspan="2" |Total
|-
! rowspan="2" |Homestead
! rowspan="2" |Cultivable
! rowspan="2" |Homestead
! rowspan="2" |Cultivable
! rowspan="2" |Homestead
! rowspan="2" |Cultivable
! rowspan="2" |Homestead
! rowspan="2" |Cultivable
! rowspan="2" |Homestead
! rowspan="2" |Cultivable
! rowspan="2" |Homestead
! rowspan="2" |Cultivable
|-
!Polder
|-
!25
|2.0
|0.0
|9.4
|10.0
|19.1
|96.7
|48.1
|326.1
|100.0
|1,055.0
|14.9
|65.8
|-
!31 Part
|2.3
|0.0
|10.9
|4.6
|31.6
|77.1
|59.1
|377.3
|60.0
|816.7
|17.7
|57.9
|-
!28/1
|2.6
|0.0
|11.9
|5.1
|16.6
|91.0
|40.8
|350.5
|106.3
|768.8
|17.8
|89.3
|-
!34/2 part
|1.8
|0.0
|10.1
|3.6
|25.4
|89.2
|77.0
|333.1
|147.6
|1,065.6
|18.3
|61.0
|-
!55/2A
|2.4
|0.0
|12.4
|7.6
|26.9
|97.2
|62.8
|353.5
|72.5
|786.4
|22.0
|78.8
|-
!47/4
|1.7
|0.0
|18.1
|3.3
|37.7
|82.8
|64.2
|318.4
|133.1
|1,348.1
|29.4
|93.0
|-
!2 & 2 Ext.
|2.1
|0.0
|9.9
|7.7
|24.7
|93.1
|60.8
|366.1
|89.0
|1,061.3
|14.8
|59.8
|-
!Total (n=3651)
|2.0
|0.0
|11.4
|6.7
|25.2
|92.3
|58.4
|342.1
|105.5
|1,049.1
|18.6
|70.3
|}
The above table explains the landholding patterns for homestead and cultivable land among the different categories of farmers in the different study polders. The land distribution is highly skewed among different categories of households but is not significantly varied among the polders.  There are significant differences among the large and other types of households in terms of the average homestead and agricultural land ownership in each polder. Large farmer households have got larger average homestead and cultivable land compared to the different classes of households. The average of homestead land of all the polders rated 2.0 decimal for landless households. It is noteworthy that households of this category have no cultivable land of their own. For the marginal farmer the average homestead land is more than five times compared to the landless. The average homestead land for small farmer households is 25.2 decimal while it is more than double for medium farmer households and four times more for the large farmer households compared to the small farmer households. In term of cultivable land, the differences are more significant, the average cultivable land for small farm household is around 92 decimals whereas the medium farmer households own three times more and the large farmer households possess more than 10 times compared to them.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.21: The HIES and BGP baselines survey 2017 relate landownership to respectively poverty incidence and sources of income
!
!Land size  dec.
!% HHs

<nowiki>**</nowiki>
!Upper

<nowiki>***</nowiki>
!Lower

<nowiki>***</nowiki>
!Non-agric  income
!Crop income
!Livestock  & fisheries
!Lease-out  land income
!Agric labour
|-
!Landless
|< 5
|17.8
|53.1
|35.9
|62.2
|7.5
|15.9
|0.22
|14.1
|-
!Marginal
|5 - 49
|44.3
|38.8
|22.1
|58.3
|11.4
|20
|0.6
|9.7
|-
!Small
|50 - 249
|28.9
|21.7
|11.9
|48.2
|18.8
|26.7
|2.96
|3.4
|-
!Medium
|250 - 749
|7.5
|11.6
|4.3
|39.5
|19.1
|31.2
|9.89
|0.2
|-
!Large
|=> 750
|1.4
|7.1
|4.2
|28.3
|24.7
|26.7
|20.3
|0
|-
!Total
!
!100
!35.2
!21.1
!51.9
!14.9
!23.4
!3.26
!6.6
|-
! colspan="10" |** Data from Baseline Survey Analysis Phase II
<nowiki>***</nowiki> from HIES 2010

<nowiki>****</nowiki> latter four columns from Baseline Survey Analysis Phase II
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 3.22:  Annual household income (BDT) from agricultural and non-agricultural sector 
!Baseline 2017
!Landless
!Marginal
!Small
!Medium
!Large
!Average
|-
!Agricultural Sector (BDT)
|40,924
|58,436
|91,653
|169,370
|312,516
|76,865
|-
!Agri. Sector (% of income)
|37.8
|41.7
|51.8
|60.5
|71.7
|48.1
|-
!Non-Agri.  (BDT)
|67,480
|81,776
|85,237
|110,505
|123,192
|82,974
|-
!Non- agri. sector (% of income)
|62.2
|58.3
|48.2
|39.5
|28.3
|51.9
|-
!Total income
|108,404
|140,212
|176,890
|279,875
|435,708
|159,839
|-
!$/Capita/day
|0.77
|1.00
|1.27
|2.01
|3.12
|1.15
|-
|
|< 5 dec
|< 50
|< 250
|< 750
|>750
|
|-
|
|17.8%
|44.3%
|28.9%
|7.5%
|1.4%
|
|}
Above two tables show an important deduction is that while there is a strong negative correlation between land ownership and incidence of poverty<ref group="Notes">That is, as land size increases, the incidence of poverty decreases.</ref> (62% households (landless and marginal) live below or just 1 $/capita/day while another 29% small farmer households having just $1.27/capita/day), not all landless are poor (in fact some 50% are) and that there are also a substantial number of poor with higher landownership<ref group="Notes">Not all land is of similar value either, e.g. depending on the cropping intensity.</ref>. The HIES notes that the poverty incidence amongst some landless households is lower than other landless households mainly due to their involvement in non-agricultural activities which provides them with income enough to escape poverty through engaging in various non-farm economic activities<ref group="Notes">Owning land can also keep the HH away of selling their labour elsewhere, resulting in underemployment. This is corroborated for example by LCS experience where there is also a definite interest by Landless II.</ref> (HIES,2010). The respective sources of income contributions to overall HH income, show some clear correlations but above all they provide a glimpse of how mixed the livelihood strategies are in the polders as a large majority is poor. These indications of poverty incidence and sources of income are of importance to BGP twin strategy (see Chapter 21 and Chapter 25) and for the selection of participants where this applies in Blue Gold approaches.
----

=== Defining targets – satisfying a realistic outreach of HH for TA FFS ===
In summary, HIES national statistics for rural areas put poverty at 35%, while the poverty map puts it for the coastal zones at 44% and above, BBS 2011 also indicates that around 60% people are illiterate, more that 65% people live in ''kacha'' or ''jhupri'' house, and likely to be within the poverty situation. On the other hand, polder level data shows that about 63% household head are either illiterate or having only primary education and around 93% people live in a one-bedroom house that shows it might be as high as this percentage. Those poor are spread over all land ownership categories with some 50% poor amongst landless and with the categories above still having poverty incidence varying from more than 25% to nearly 10%. 
----With respect to BGP twin strategy, BGP focuses on the following issue. 

# Some 50% of the households are not considered landless and are definitely involved in cropping. Not all necessarily personally or throughout the whole year, as they lease there land out or allow share cropping. A substantial %<ref group="Notes">This baseline survey refers to 8% of income from cropping sources. Subsistence production might bias this figure though.</ref> of the landless in this way join ranks with the landowners to benefit from Blue Gold’s water resource management and production system shift programme<ref group="Notes">This includes DAE FFS, CII, CAWM and other water management focused WMO facilitation.</ref>. Amongst both these landless and landowner participants there are a substantial number of poor. As water resource management is geographically determined, the question to identify and select these poor households does not pose itself. All participants do benefit from the commercialisation programme and it is our experience that, especially the poorer households, are participating in the collective actions.
# The second Blue Gold strategy, the TA FFS programme, along with the LCS approach, is aimed at the 50% landless in the polders. To optimise impact of this programme, there is specific attention needed to identify and select the appropriate participants. A few points can be made.
#* Not all landless are poor (in fact 50% are) and other criteria than landownership have to be considered.
#* Amongst the landless there are households who provide their labour to the agricultural sector in the polder or on a migrant basis, for shorter or longer duration, to sectors beyond the polder<ref group="Notes">Not necessarily all stepping out as some finance their leasing of land by remittances.</ref>. Agricultural labour offers 14% of income amongst the landless.
#* Amongst the landless there are those who are leasing or sharecropping land and probably are benefitting from the WRM/commercialisation programme, be it limited to where infra rehabilitation allows.<ref group="Notes">BGP does not have reliable data on this but at presently estimate it at 5 to 10%. Some of this could be seasonal.</ref> 
#* Participating in the FFS modules demand a minimum of specific assets and for most, those with no land at all, are probably not able to benefit from TA FFS.
#* As indicated, there are households at the lower end of the landownership which are already gaining substantial income from other sources (transport, non-agricultural labour, rural services, business, etc).
#* The UP has lists of needy households which they support in a safety net programme. These should be of guidance.   

With respect to a target number of households to be reached in the TA FFS program we can state the following. With 50% landless in the total population of 200,000 Blue Gold households, there are 100,000 belonging to the landless category of which again 50% are poor, or 50,000 households.  Some of these, involved in leasing land under different forms, will benefit most from increasing the productivity of their land and labour assets in the WRM/commercialization program, while a small percentage do lack the minimum asset requirements to gain from TA FFS participation or are already using their, mainly, labour assets to good results elsewhere and/or in non-agricultural sectors. Without further insights in these percentages a target of 30,000 households to be reached by TA FFS can be considered a fair assessment, while keeping in mind that an additional number will be reached by horizontal learning.

==Physical Context==

===Purpose of Polder Infrastructure===
'''Safety'''

One of BWDB’s primary responsibilities in the coastal region is to ensure the integrity of the polder embankment and to thus protect the vulnerable communities who live and work in the polders.  Polder communities are provided with safety against tidal floods, storm surges, river erosion and salinity through embankment strengthening, breach closing and erosion protection measures. In combination with the infrastructure improvements, disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities involving local community organisations and the concerned government departments has increased the state of preparedness of polder inhabitants to prospects of embankment breaches and overtopping, and encouraged consideration of pre-emptive actions.

All of those who live and work in the SW face the consequences of erosion damage to polder embankments. And many BWDB professionals have practical experience of the consequences of breaches to polder embankments. But those who are resident in the polders, and whose families and livelihoods are dependent on the exclusion of flood waters from the polder bear the brunt of the consequences when polder embankments fail. There is enormous social and economic impact.

'''Water Management'''

Within the polders, the re-excavation of primary canals and some major secondary canals, and rehabilitation of water management structures (sluices, outlets etc) aims to improve the overall water management and to create scope for in-polder water management (IPWM) and community-led agricultural water management (CAWM). Where infrastructure works are complete, unobstructed flow of water is possible through the cleared main ''khals'', and the rehabilitated sluices/outlets allow improved water regulation. Previously, many areas were either unable to be drained and remained inundated, or suffered water shortages as their main outlets or inlets were obstructed or poorly functioning.

Photo 3.1 shows one of the 186 regulators which was rehabilitated under Blue Gold.  Note the agricultural area to the left of the tree-lined embankment which protects the polder area (P31-part) from high river levels, and the scale of the tidal river – the Kazibacha River. The regulator drains water into a tidal river – it is low tide so there is drainage from the polder. The high tide mark is visible.
[[File:Photo 3.1.jpg|none|thumb|863x863px|'''Photo 3.1''' A regulator draining excess water from Polder 31-part into the Kazibacha River]]

===Vulnerability of Polder Infrastructure===
In the harsh environment of the coastal zone, polder infrastructure is subject to many threats and – sea surges, cyclones, rivers in flood, high salinity tidal flows, sedimentation of river channels, intense rain storms, road traffic, human interventions etc. 

There have been more than 40 severe cyclones<ref group="Notes">Source Wikipedia (2020)</ref> in the coastal zone of Bangladesh since 1961. Of recent note are the following seven cyclones:

*15 November 2007: '''[[wikipedia:Cyclone_Sidr|Cyclone Sidr]]''' with wind speeds up to 260 km/hour, made landfall in southern Bangladesh, causing over 3,500 deaths and severe damage.
*27–29 May 2009: A severe '''[[wikipedia:Cyclone_Aila|Cyclone Aila]]''' devastated 15 Districts of south-western part of Bangladesh with wind speeds up to 120 km/hour; about 150 deaths, 200,000 houses and crop losses across 120,000 ha of cultivated land.
*29 July 2015: '''[[wikipedia:Cyclone_Komen|Cyclone Komen]]''' with wind speeds up to 75 km/hour, Komen made landfall near Chittagong. About 510,000 houses in the country were damaged or destroyed, and many residents lost their source of income as 270,000 ha of crop fields were damaged. The floods killed 132 people, of which at least 39 were directly related to Komen.
*4 May 2019: '''[[wikipedia:Cyclone_Fani|Cyclone Fani]]''' moved into Bangladesh after making landfall in Odisha, resulting in the death of 17 people in ten Districts of Bangladesh. It destroyed about 63,000 ha of farmland in 35 Districts of the country, causing agricultural losses estimated at US$4.6 million, and a total damage in Bangladesh amounting to US$64  million.
*9 November 2019: '''[[wikipedia:Cyclone_Bulbul|Cyclone Bulbul]]''' made landfall near West Bengal, and crossed into Bangladesh. It caused severe flooding and storm surge in the country, with the loss of approximately 72,000 metric tonne of crops with an estimated total value of US$31 million.
*20 May 2020: '''[[wikipedia:Cyclone_Amphan|Cyclone Amphan]]''' moved into Bangladesh after making landfall in West Bengal.
*26 May 2021: [[wikipedia:Cyclone_Yaas|'''Cyclone Yaas''']] crossed the northern Odisha coast around 20 km south of Balasore on 26 May at its peak intensity as a very severe cyclonic storm. Despite the distance of Patuakhali from the landfall in Odisha, the high winds associated with the cyclone combined with the occurrence of a spring tide resulted in extensive damage to polder embankments along many of the major rivers draining into the Bay of Bengal.

Because of this exposure to natural and man-made threats, polder infrastructure requires significant repair and maintenance investments – to provide emergency repairs as well as periodic maintenance. And the repairs to cyclone damage can take many years – for example, repairs caused by Cyclone Sidr (in 2007) were still ongoing in 2015.

For the 22 Blue Gold polders, Table 3.3 (below) provides a summary of the dates of construction, the dates of investments by earlier projects, as well as the location, the responsible BWDB Division and Upazila administration, and characteristics of the infrastructure (length of embankment, numbers of structures and length of primary drainage channels or khals).
{{NoticeWLTable}}
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+Table 3.3 Blue Gold Polders - Key Data
!Sl. No.
!Polder
!
!Date of Construction
!Previous History
!District
!BWDB Division
!Upazila
!Gross
Area (hectare)
!Cultivable
Area (hectare)
!Embankment (km)
!Regulator
(no)
!Flushing 
Inlet (no)
!Drainage
Channel (km)
|-
!1
!2
!
!
!3
!4
!
!5
!6
!
!
!
!
!
|-
! colspan="14" |Khulna
|-
|1
|22
|
|1970-72
DDP
|2003-2011 IPSWAM
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-2
|Paikgachha
|1,630
|1,417
|19.5
|7
|12
|45.0
|-
|2
|26
|
|1967-68
CEP
|none
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Dumuria
|2,696
|2,100
|28.7
|7
|  -
|25.0
|-
|3
|29
|
|1966-71
CEP
|2003-2011 IPSWAM
1988 DDP
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Dumuria, Batiaghata
|8,218
|6,570
|49.3
|14
|43
|156.4
|-
|4
|30
|
|1967-72
CEP
|2003-2011 IPSWAM
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-2
|Batiaghata
|6,396
|4,048
|40.3
|21
|3
|39.0
|-
|5
|31 Part
|
|1967-72
CEP
|none
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-2
|Batiaghata
|4,848
|4,048
|28.0
|14
|2
|17.5
|-
|6
|25
|
|1963-67
CEP
|1993-2002 KJDRP
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Dumuria, Fultala
|17,400
|14,379
|50.5
|13
|  -
|60.0
|-
|7
|27/1
|
|1963-65
CEP
|1993-2002 KJDRP
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Dumuria
|3,765
|3,000
|32.4
|8
|  -
|30.0
|-
|8
|27/2
|
|1974-76
CEP
|1993-2002 KJDRP
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Dumuria
|495
|400
|15.3
|3
|  -
|15.8
|-
|9
|28/1
|
|1965-70
CEP
|1993-2002 KJDRP
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Dumuria, Batiaghata
|5,600
|4,500
|23.2
|7
|2
|27.0
|-
|10
|28/2
|
|1973-75
CEP
|1993-2002 KJDRP
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-1
|Batiaghata
|2,590
|2,000
|20.1
|8
|  -
|31.0
|-
|11
|34/2 part
|
|1998-2005
GoB
|none
|Khulna
|Khulna O&M-2
|Batiaghata
|4,900
|4,030
|37.0
|38
|14
|43.0
|-
| colspan="7" |
|'''Sub-Total: Khulna'''
|'''58,538'''
|'''46,492'''
|'''344.2'''
|'''140'''
|'''76'''
|'''489.6'''
|-
! colspan="14" |Patuakhali
|-
|12
|43/1A
|
|1989-90 
EIP
|2003-2011 IPSWAM
|Barguna
|Barguna O&M
|Amtali
|2,675
|2,200
|27.0
|5
|11
|58.5
|-
|13
|43/2A
|
|1985-87 
EIP
|2003-2011 IPSWAM
|Patuakhali
|Patuakhali O&M
|Patuakhali Sadar, Amtali
|5,182
|3,887
|40.0
|5
|34
|44.3
|-
|14
|43/2B
|
|1989-98
EIP
|2003-2011 IPSWAM
|Barguna & Patuakhali
|Patuakhali O&M
|Galachipa,Amtali
|5,460
|4,000
|41.5
|6
|42
|39.5
|-
|15
|43/2D
|
|1989-98
EIP
|2003-2011 IPSWAM
|Patuakhali
|Patuakhali O&M
|Patuakhali Sadar, Galachipa
|6,500
|4,875
|43.0
|16
|58
|110.4
|-
|16
|43/2E
|
|1989-90
EIP
|2003-2011 IPSWAM
|Patuakhali
|Patuakhali O&M
|Patuakhali Sadar
|1,650
|1,300
|20.3
|7
|40
|42.0
|-
|17
|43/2F
|
|1989-94
CEP
|2003-2011 IPSWAM
|Barguna
|Barguna O&M
|Amtali
|4,453
|3,500
|35.3
|17
|38
|32.8
|-
|18
|55/2A
|
|1988-94
EIP
|2008-2015 WMIP
|Patuakhali
|Patuakhali O&M
|Patuakhali Sadar, Bauphal, Dashmina, Galachipa
|7,166
|5,000
|41.0
|12
|6
|35.0
|-
|19
|55/2C
|
|1988-90
EIP
|none
|Patuakhali
|Patuakhali O&M
|Dashmina, Galachipa
|6,275
|5,020
|47.5
|7
|29
|37.5
|-
|20
|47/3
|
|1961-64
CEP
|none
|Patuakhali
|Kalapara
|Kalapara
|2,025
|1,660
|20.0
|8
|10
|25.3
|-
|21
|47/4
|
|1961-64
CEP
|none
|Patuakhali
|Kalapara
|Kalapara
|6,600
|5,600
|61.0
|26
|1
|65.0
|-
| colspan="7" |
|'''Sub-Total: Patuakhali'''
|'''47,986'''
|'''37,042'''
|'''376.6'''
|'''109'''
|'''269'''
|'''490.3'''
|-
! colspan="14" |Satkhira
|-
| rowspan="2" |22
| rowspan="2" |2 and 2 ext*
|2
|1963-65
CEP
|none
|Satkhira
|Satkhira O&M-2
|Satkhira Sadar and Assasuni
|11,290
|10,122
| rowspan="2" |63.0
|17
|
| rowspan="2" |65.2
|-
|2 Extension
|1963-65
CEP
|none
|Satkhira
|Satkhira O&M-2
|Satkhira Sadar
|1,310
|1,174
|4
|
|-
| colspan="7" |
|'''Sub-Total: Satkhira'''
|'''12,600'''
|'''11,296'''
|'''63.0'''
|'''21'''
| '''-'''
|'''65.2'''
|-
! colspan="14" |
|-
| colspan="8" |'''Total'''
|'''119,124'''
|'''94,830'''
|'''783.7'''
|'''270'''
|'''345'''
|'''1,045.2'''
|}

The 22 Blue Gold polders were constructed over a nearly 30 year timeframe, with start dates ranging from 1961 to 1989 (with one outlier, P34/2-part in Batiaghata, Khulna where construction started in 1998). Most of the polders in Khulna and Satkhira were constructed between 1963 and 1975, whilst those in Patuakhali date from 1985 to 1998, with two (P47/4 and P47/4) in Kalapara being constructed between 1961 and 1964. They vary in age from 57 years (P47/3 and P47/4 in Kalapara were built from 1961 to 1964) to 16 years (P34/2-part in Khulna, built from 1998 to 2005) with an average age of 42 years (based on the year of completion of construction, up to the year of Blue Gold’s completion, 2021).  The average age of the 12 polders in Khulna and Satkhira is 48 years, and for the 10 polders in Patuakhali is 34 years.

An aggregation of these polder characteristics represents the scale of the problem: 784km of embankments, 615 large structures and 1,045km of primary drainage channels. Earthen embankments are subject to daily attack from river erosion and road traffic, and can be readily breached when conditions combine - spring tides, monsoon floodwaters, augmented by wind erosion or cyclonic storms. Structures provided in the embankment to allow drainage (or to admit freshwater for storage for subsequent use for irrigation) can be damaged by seepage or piping, mal-operation of the gates, erosion of the bank or bed around the structure, and made non-functional if gates don’t close off the flow of water, or if sedimentation in the outfall river obstructs water from discharging from the polder.

==Notes==
<references group="Notes" responsive="0" />

==See more==
{{ArtNav|Prev_chap=[[2 - Institutional Setting|Chapter 02: Institutional Setting]]|Curr_sect=[[Summary of Section A: Background and context|Section A: Background and context]]|Next_chap=[[04 Policy framework, history of interventions and project definition|Chapter 04: Policy framework, history of interventions and project definition]]}}

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